Mon, May 15, 2023
Test Aircraft Shipped, Assembled, and Prepped for Battery of Ground Testing Leading to 1st Flight
Archer has been hard at work prepping for their first full flight test, readying their eVTOL, the Midnight, for a full demo of its capabilities.
The aircraft has garnered notice from a number of prospective clients, from fledgling carriers to the Department of Defense as they eye the quiet capability of an all-electric, 4-passenger VTOL aircraft. The firm announced that it completed shipment of a disassembled aircraft, sending it from its Palo Alto, California facility to its test range in Salinas, California. With the aircraft reassembled, Archer will complete a battery of ground tests before judging it ready to take flight in earnest.
“Today we announced our exciting progress that the final assembly of our first Midnight aircraft is now complete and it is preparing for its flight test program,” said Adam Goldstein, Archer’s Founder and CEO. “This aircraft will accelerate and reduce risk on our certification program paving the way for our team to focus on building and conducting piloted operations with conforming aircraft to support the goal of entering into service in 2025.”
The company anticipates type certification for the Midnight sometime in late 2024, with an eye towards flexible, hub & spoke production methods that could see up to 2,000 produced per year. With United Airlines invested in the success of the Midnight, Archer is banking on seeing a quick rollout of short-hop air taxi service between noise sensitive metro areas. Short jaunts like Newark, New Jersey to New York City in 10 minutes are upheld as perfect examples of what they see as an unfilled niche in aviation service so far - sustainable, affordable, quiet, and quick passenger transport.
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